The Mets have plenty to regret from a miserable 2026 season, but Pete Crow-Armstrong has to sit near the top of the list. New York sold at the trade deadline, fired its manager, and has spent much of the year without much production from its stars because of injuries. Meanwhile, Crow-Armstrong is in Chicago and looking like the runaway NL MVP favorite.
That pain lands harder because the Mets were the team that sent Crow-Armstrong to the Cubs a few years ago in the Javier Baez deal. It’s the kind of move that looks bad in hindsight and looks even worse when the player in question turns into a star.
But New York isn’t the only club carrying that kind of scar. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale pointed out that the Dodgers and Guardians also made similar mistakes by moving away future MVP-caliber talent early in those players’ minor league careers.
“It’s pretty wild considering that the National League’s MVP and the top two AL MVP candidates were all traded early in their minor league careers,” Nightengale writes.
The Dodgers’ miss came with Yordan Alvarez, who was 19 at the time he was dealt for Josh Fields. Alvarez is mashing for the Astros this year and has a real shot at the AL Triple Crown.
Cleveland’s version was Junior Caminero, sent to the Rays for Tobias Myers. Caminero has become one of the game’s best power hitters, and that’s exactly the sort of bat the Guardians could use. Their offense is badly short on home runs, so losing that kind of pop hurts even more.
The contrast is stark. The Mets and Dodgers have the resources and star power to cushion the blow a little. Cleveland doesn’t have that luxury.
So while Mets fans have every reason to wince over the Crow-Armstrong deal, the story is bigger than one team’s bad day. The Dodgers let Alvarez get away.
The Guardians moved Caminero too soon. And all three clubs are now watching players they once had in hand climb into MVP conversations somewhere else.
In Other News...
Brayan Rocchio's Early Exit Just Raised A Big Guardians Concern
Brayan Rocchios night against the Athletics ended early after the Guardians pulled him with left leg tightness, a move Stephen Vogt described as precautionary. Rocchio has been dealing with soreness that flared up during the game, and Cleveland planned to take a closer look the next day. For a club that has leaned on him heavily lately, his presence has mattered in more ways than one.
Rocchio has given the Guardians key hits and steady defensive plays at a time when every little edge seems to count. So even if the early exit was framed carefully, it still adds another layer of concern around one of their more important recent contributors, especially with the team waiting to see how he responds after the evaluation. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Suddenly Have A George Valera Decision To Make
George Valeras season has turned into something of a late-summer crossroads for the Guardians, who have watched the outfielder go from an injured-list start to a demotion to Triple-A after a rough beginning in the majors. Since then, he has reminded the organization why he once looked like an important piece of the outfield mix, putting together a strong run in the minors and staying on base in 21 straight games.
The recent production has reopened the conversation about whether Cleveland should bring him back to the major league roster, and whether the next move is bigger than a simple call-up. For a club that has already seen enough to know Valeras path has not been linear, the question now is how aggressively to reward the surge and whether there is a 40-man roster decision waiting in the background. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Keep The Race Alive Despite One Concern From Saturday
The Guardians kept their late-season push rolling Saturday at Progressive Field, backing a big offensive night with a 12-6 win over the Athletics. It was their fourth straight victory and moved them to 80-75, a stretch that has kept the club in the race as September winds down. Angel Martinez was at the center of it, giving Cleveland a jolt from both sides of the plate with home runs that helped turn a productive lineup into a runaway result.
Still, there was at least one uneasy note buried in the victory. Tanner Bibee was not sharp, giving up six runs over 4.2 innings, and Cleveland had to lean on its bats to make sure the game never got away from it. The Guardians have earned the right to enjoy the winning streak, but with the margin for error shrinking, how they manage the rotation down the stretch will matter just as much as whether the offense keeps carrying its weight. [Read more 🡒]